2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in California
13
Ranked Colleges
217
Degrees Awarded
$103,564
Avg Salary
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 46,178 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 21st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $69,007 and had an average of $23,944 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 5,137 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $73,918 and $19,735 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 217 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,525 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. To top this list, a school must have a successful mechanical engineering program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate”.
Top 13 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 49 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Stanford University Mechanical Engineering Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 34 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 27 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UC Irvine
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 24 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Mechanical Engineering Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UCSD
California Institute of Technology landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. California Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 16 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full California Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering Report
University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCSB Mechanical Engineering Report
University of California - Riverside ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 11 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full UCR Mechanical Engineering Report
University of California - Davis ranked #9 on this year’s Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Davis
University of California - Merced did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #10. University of California - Merced is located in Merced, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Merced
University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #11. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Southern California
Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #12. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Clara, California. It awarded 1 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at SCU
Naval Postgraduate School came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended ME Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. Naval Postgraduate School is located in Monterey, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 34 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Naval Postgraduate School
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
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